


RWBY: Hunting Huntresses

by PsionicsKnight



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-03-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 00:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10321826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsionicsKnight/pseuds/PsionicsKnight
Summary: When Team RWBY disappears under mysterious circumstances, Team JNPR searches for their missing friends. As they continue the search, though, they find both a new friend and a potential enemy...





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone,  
> I'm a relatively seasoned fan fiction writer, as well as a big fan of the show RWBY. After seeing the show for a while, I knew I had to make a fan fiction of it sometime, and I decided to include the characters in a larger, open-source massive crossover called "The Aseik-Ilu Chronicles". After the Vol. 3 ending, I felt that this would be a great time to write this series.
> 
> Now, some things to make clear: this story is, technically, a diversion from the Vol. 3. If the story doesn't imply it, it takes roughly before the events of Emerald and Mercury's dual battle, but also after Pyrrha discovers the truth of the Fall Maiden (if I got that wrong, please tell me). Hope you all enjoy!

The Emerald Forest looked peaceful as Jaune looked out into the vast realm. The green sea of leaves shone brilliantly, creating a unique mixture of gold and green that seemed to dance all around Jaune, inviting him to let go of his worries and simply enjoy himself. Sadly, the young huntsman-in-training could not do so: something terrible had happened, and he feared he would never recover from the action.  
Why? Jaune thought to himself: while he knew there was nothing he could do, he still felt responsible. Why did she have to go? She was my best friend. Finding a tree to lean on, Jaune calmly sighed, fighting back tears as he tried to control his sorrow and worry. After standing there for about a minute, barely noticing the hard, sharp wood of the oak, he took a deep breath, got off the tree, and looked into the forest. There’s no way to go but forward now. Besides, she wouldn’t want me to give up. Trying to compose himself, he was about to take a step forward, just before he heard a familiar voice from behind.

“Jaune?” Jaune turned around quickly, seeing a familiar red head, looking at him inquisitively.

“Oh, hey Pyrrha.” The young huntsman student responded with a forced smile, trying to look strong.

Pyrrha walked up to him, her arms folded across her chest, looking concerned. “What are you doing out here? Aren’t you going to come to the Tournament? Coco and Yatsuhashi were going to fight Mercury and Emerald.”

“Oh, I’ll be there.” He responded, trying to sound convincing. “I just wanted to take a little walk before I saw the next match.” He laughed a bit nervously, which only strengthened Pyrrha’s resolve.

“Jaune… you’re acting a bit strange. Maybe we should go meet-“

“No, no, everything’s okay,” Jaune interrupted, putting his hands up in a “defensive” motion to show Pyrrha didn’t need to talk. “I just need some… alone time, you know. Gotta be rested up in case some Grimm attack happens.”

The silence between the two could almost be felt as Pyrrha stood there in silence, but eventually she just turned her head, a somewhat sad expression on her face, before saying, “Okay Jaune, I’ll leave you alone.” She began to take a few steps away, before saying, “I’ll see you late-“

“JAUNE!” Another female voice said. Looking up, Jaune saw it was none other than the other female member of his team Nora Valkyrie. Rushing towards her two teammates, her eternal smile plastered on her face, she said, “Where you’ve been? Ren and I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Upon saying that, another figure-the tall young man known as Ren-slowly walked up as well, somehow keeping up with his energetic friend despite the slow movement.  
“Yeah Jaune,” Ren responded. “You’ve been acting a bit strange.”

“Come on,” Nora continued, waving her hand, jumping in place. “If we hurry, we can get there just before the match starts.”

“Strange?” Pyrrha said, her fear melting away into mild fury. Turning to Jaune, an angrier look on her face, she firmly said, “Jaune, what’s going on? Why are you out here? And why didn’t you tell us anything?”

Sighing, Jaune turned away in shame, saying, “Something terrible has happened. You guys really don’t need to know…”

Pyrrha softened a bit at seeing her friend in distress, while Nora, seeing that this was more than just her leader’s trademark self-pessimism, stopped her skipping and simply stood there in silence, unsure of what to say. Slowly though, Ren came up and laid a hand on Jaune’s shoulder. “Jaune… do you remember about what you told me a few months back? About what you felt our relationship was like?”

Surprised, Jaune lifted his head to look at his friend. “Wha-what?”

“You said that, even though we’ve known each other a short time, I’ve been like a brother to you.” Taking his hand off, Ren moved in front of Jaune, crossing his arms over his chest. “And, as your brother, I need to know what’s going on if something’s bothering you. You don’t have to tell me everything if you aren’t ready, but at the very least you can tell me the gist of what’s going on.”

“Yeah Jaune,” Nora responded, uncharacteristically slowly and calmly. “We’re your friends-and your team. You can tell me everything.” Pyrrha, however, said nothing: rather she just moved behind Nora and leaned in, a look of fear and anxiety on her face. 

Despite the grim feelings he had, Jaune knew he could trust them. Slowly, he said, “Alright… I’ll tell you… But you got to promise me that you won’t say anything to anyone.” As the others agreed, Jaune said, “Guys… have you noticed that team RWBY’s been missing for a while?”

Taken aback by the question, NPR could only stand in silence as they tried to think of an answer. Suddenly, Nora, looking up into the sky, replied, “Now that you mention it… I haven’t seen them for a while.” Looking back at Jaune, she said, “Why? Do you know where they are?”

“Well, no,” Jaune responded flatly. “From what I’ve heard, they were last scene a few weeks before the Vytal Festival began.” Cupping his chin a bit in a thinking look, he continued, “The strange thing is that no one seems to have noticed: not even the professors. When I tried to talk to Professor Glynda about it, she said she didn’t even realize they were gone and, even though she said she’d look into it, there’s been no news.”

“Well, have you contacted the authorities?” Pyrrha suggested.

“I did, but they didn’t seem interested as well. The scary thing was… a couple of times, I started to stop caring as well-I had to force myself to remember to look for them.” Shaking his head, Jaune continued, “It’s almost as if whatever happened is making us forget about them.”

“Okay.” Ren responded stoically. “Then why are you out here?”

Looking to the forest, Jaune said, “According to Velvet, she said that she last saw Blake walking towards the Emerald Forest,” Looking back at his friends, he continued, “I think that the answer to whatever happened to them is in that forest. That’s why I’m going to go look for it.”

The others were silent as they let the noise sink in. Finally, Pyrrha said, “Okay,” Walking up to him, she said, “I’m coming with you.”

“Wha-no, Pyrrha-“

“Jaune...” Pyrrha said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “They’re my friends as well. Even if I'm not as close to them-or at least to Ruby-as you are, I won't abandon them in their time of need.”

“That’s why I need to go alone: if I’m the only one out there, the Grimm won’t notice me as much. If we travel as group, we’re a bigger target.”

“More like you’re going to end up getting killed.” Nora said, coming behind Pyrrha. “Jaune, we’re friends: I’m not going to let you get hurt.” Getting excited again, she said, “Besides, it’ll be like a great big mystery!” She then began to move around, thinking about all the things that she would do. “We’ll get to look for clues, and fight Grimm, and take in suspects, and wears those neat little hats, and inspect crime scenes and…”

Ren came up, stating, “Where you go, I go.”

Sighing, Jaune said, “Alright, you guys win. I’ll let you come with me.” Turning to the forest, he said, “Let’s go.”

As the team left, Ren realized he was missing something. Turning back, he saw Nora, who continued her ramble, saying, “… and act all tough…” Slowly, he walked over to Nora and reached for her, grabbing her by the back of her shirt. “… and talk like Velvet- Wahh!” Nora yelped as she was forcibly pulled towards Ren and the others.

 

“Are you sure it’s this way?” Pyrrha asked Jaune as he led them through the forest.

Turning around, Jaune said, “I’m not sure… but Velvet did say Blake went into the Southwest part of the Forest. So… I’m guessing that’s are best bet.”

“Very well…” Pyrrha responded somberly, though no one seemed to notice. It was fine for her, though: she had enough to deal with. Looking around, pretending to try and be looking for Team RWBY, Pyrrha’s mind raced. Why me? Why did I have to be chosen for this? Not only was what the four of them asking for her extremely dangerous, but it was wrong as well. Certainly there were other ways to help contain the Fall Maiden’s power. And besides, what they said before…

 

“You have an important decision before you, Miss Nikos.” Pyrrha barely heard Ozpin as she came closer to the pod that held the last Fall Maiden. “There’s no guarantee this transfer will work. And there’s no telling if you will be the same person if it does.” Nearly face-to-face, Pyrrha stared into the scared, scarred face of who might be her predecessor. “I advise you to take time on this matter. But understand that before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer.” Instead of responding, Pyrrha merely placed her hand on the glass, in a futile attempt to try and comfort the girl inside. Don’t worry. I’ll find who did this to you. Pyrrha thought to herself. I’ll make sure they receive justice, even if I don’t become your replacement.

Turning back to the others, Ozpin continued with one final warning, “The assailant that attacked the Fall Maiden has made their first move. And there’s no telling when their next move will be.”

“It’s your choice, Pyrrha,” Ironwood responded, almost trying to calm her. “We won’t force you into this, but understand that if you say no, then we’ll have to find someone else. And the longer we have to wait, the more time there is for the assailant to find the Maiden.”

Standing there, feeling as if the weight of the world had been put on her shoulders, Pyrrha remainded silent even as the five of them entered the elevator and returned to the world above.

 

“…rha! Pyrrha!” With a jump, Pyrrha turned her head to see Nora standing in front of her.

“Wha-Nora, what’s going on?”

“We need to hide! Ren said he heard some people were coming up front!” At that, the redheaded fighter ducked behind one of the bushes, holding out Magnhild. Noticing that Jaune and Ren were also in their own positions, ready to strike, Pyrrha got behind a tree, holding out her own trademark weapons.

Jaune, turning to them, said, “Okay, I think they’re coming up. On my mark, we jump out and surprise them.” As the others quietly agreed, Jaune waited, wondering whom these people could be. Were they some of Roman’s old lackeys, members of the White Fang, someone else entirely? Whoever it was, he knew that they needed to be careful: very few people went into the Emerald Forest for no reason. These people, like him and his team, were here for a reason. And quite possibly, these people couldn’t afford to let anyone know what they were doing.

Slowly, he heard the group getting closer, the sound of twigs snapping ringing through his ears. As soon as he saw the shadow of one of them appear right by their opening, he told the others, “Now!” and rushed out to meet the figures, his friends going with him quickly. Holding out his sword, Jaune met face-to-face with…

Team CRDL?

Stopping immediately, trying to gain his balance from his attempted attack, Jaune, flabbergasted, responded, “Cardin?”

“Jaunny-boy?” Cardin responded-a surprised look on his face-holding his mace as he and his friends appeared to be ready to attack as well. Holding back, the leader of CRDL responded, “What the heck are you during here? This place is a breeding ground for Grimm!”

“We could say the same thing, Winchester!” Nora said as she came up, fury emanating off of her. It still shocked Jaune to see sweet and friendly Nora get so angry at Cardin. It was to be expected, of course-after all, right after Jaune saved Cardin from that Ursa, he explained to his teammates why he was acting so strange and what Cardin had to do with all of it. Since then, NPR had a very low opinion of CRDL and its members.

Despite liking the idea that his friends were going to defend him, Jaune knew that Cardin wasn’t worth it and that they had other matters to focus on. “Hey, hey, Nora, it’s okay,” Jaune said, waving his hand down in an effort to have Nora understand she didn’t need to go berserk.

Looking at him for a minute, confusion in her eyes, Nora simply nodded and took a step back, but continued to glare at Cardin alongside Pyrrha and Ren.

Sighing, Jaune came up to Cardin and responded, “Cardin… right now, we’re looking for Team RWBY. We haven’t seen them for a while.”

“If I was around you lot, I’d want to disappear too.” Russel responded, making the rest of Team CRDL chuckle a bit. Pyrrha’s grip on Milo, however, got a bit stronger.

In contrast, Jaune timidly responded, “Cardin… we don’t want any trouble. Just tell us if you’ve seen them or let us through. We don’t want to interrupt… whatever it is your doing here.”

“Hmm… I don’t know, Jaune.” Cardin responded, getting up into the blonde’s face. “You were the one who spilled that red sap on me and drew that Ursa.”

“Jaune saved your stupid ass!” Nora screamed, looking almost as angry as Yang when someone cut the blonde brawler’s hair. “Why don’t you try to be a little grateful, Winchester? Maybe then, next time you act like a jackass, he might help you again!”

Getting angry, Cardin cursed out, “Why you little-“

“Cardin,” Dove responded calmly, putting a hand on his leader’s shoulder. “Let it go. They’re not worth it and we don’t need getting hurt before our next match. Besides, we should just be focusing on training.”

“You should listen to your friend, Cardin.” Ren responded equally calm, though the look he gave was more of a warning than simple advice.

Scoffing, Cardin stepped back, keeping his sickeningly smug grin on his face. Groaning in disgust, Pyrrha responded, “Look, have you all seen Team RWBY here or not? We really need to know.”

“You know, I’m not sure if I did, sweet cheeks.” Sky responded, grinning hungrily at an exasperated Pyrrha. “Perhaps if you and I did a little something-something, I’d remember a bit more…”

“Excuse you?” Pyrrha responded, confused but fearing the worst.

“Come on, babe.” Sky stated as he cocked his right eyebrow. “A member of Team CRDL with the Scarlet Lioness: it’s a match made in Heaven. Come on, you know you want to...” 

“Ugh,” Disgusted, Pyrrha backed up. “I’m not going to be your boy-toy! Now, tell us what we want to know or leave!”

“You know…” Cardin said, getting his mace out. “I think we’ve just had about enough of-“

“Oh, for the love of Dust! Give it a rest, Cardin.” Dove responded, looking annoyed, before walking by a stunned CRL and towards an even more stunned JNPR-more specifically, Jaune. “About a week before the Vytal Festival started, I met with Weiss for some sparring, to practice for the tournament.”

“Dove, what are you doing?” Cardin asked through clenched teeth.

Turning around, Dove said, “Cardin, Jaune did save you while we all fled. This is the least we can do. Besides, once they go, we can return to training.”

“Do you even remember what happened with Arc?” Cardin continued, furious over his Teammate’s “betrayal”. “He brought that Ursa on us.

“Do you not remember how Jaune saved you not only because we abandoned you, but in spite of the fact of how we treated him?’ Shaking his head, Dove said, “I guess Professor Ozpin doesn’t take intelligence into his leader choices.” Strangely, though, Jaune noticed that Pyrrha seemed to… tense up after that remark.

“After our sparring was done, Weiss said that she heard some strange noise-she said it sounded ethereal, but also something that seemed to call out to her as well.” Pointing behind his team, he continued, “She entered the Forest and headed southeast-which, if my calculations are correct, then they continued down that way.”

“Wow… thanks.” Jaune responded, still a bit in shock after what Dove just did. “Do you know anything else?”

Thinking for a second, Dove responded, “Well… if I remember correctly, I do believe I recall Sky saying Yang went into the same general direction of Weiss, after he tried to, and I quote, ‘Put the moves on the blonde bombshell.’” Of course, both Pyrrha and Nora sighed from this.

“Well, uh… thank you. We’ll… leave you guys alone now.” Jaune said as he and the rest of Team JNPR walked past Team CRDL-though Nora gave the “I’m watching you” sign to Cardin. Well… at least that brought some progress…

 

As soon as they were out of earshot, Russel said, “Dove, what the hell was that?! Do you even know we’re not their friends?!”

“Yeah, and now you might have just ruined my chance for a bit of fun with Nikos and Valkyrie!” Sky responded angrily.

“We needed to train and they were willing to go if we helped them. I merely took the most logical road to this all.”

“I’ll show you logical…” Cardin muttered as he took out his mace and attempted to strike Dove… only for Dove to reach out, grip his muscular friend’s breastplate, and throw him into the surrounding forest. “Whhhoooaaa!!!” Cardin said as he flew through the air, before landing. “Ah, my legs! My legs…”

 

About fifteen minutes later, Team JNPR was still looking for any sign of Team RWBY-and still with no luck at all. Jaune himself was beginning to consider giving up. After all, they had found no trace of their missing friends and it was starting to get late. Maybe it would be best to call it a day and come back when they were more prepared for investigation. But, just as he was about to turn to his friends and tell them, he noticed something in the background. There, up ahead, appeared to be a few buildings-literally right in the Emerald Forest, as if there was no threat of Grimm anywhere. Sure, today the Grimm had seemed unusually inactive, but even then no one would set up here full time.

“Hey Jaune, what’s going on?” Nora asked as she rushed up to her leader.

“Did you find something?” Ren continued.

“Yeah… Yeah, I think I did.” Looking back at his friends, Jaune stated, “I think someone built some buildings up ahead.”

“What?” Pyrrha asked. “Why would they do that? The Emerald Forest is usually crawling with Grimm. Besides, isn’t it against Vale’s laws?”

“Yeah, I know, it’s weird.” A mysterious female voice said next to the NPR trio. Frightened, and nearly suffering a heart attack, Pyrrha and Ren jumped back, while Nora yelped and swung Magnhild-in hammer form-at the intruder. The girl was hit and thrown back a bit, but not only seemed unharmed but even unfazed by the fact that she was hit with a giant hammer.

Surprised, Team JNPR got closer to the new girl. Her red hair matched that of Nora’s, though instead of straight hair the girl’s was curlier. On the back of her head was a pink bow, which stood out slightly to her white blouse, grey overalls, and black stockings. On her neck was a black collar with some neon green stripes, which matched similar lines on her overalls and stockings. Her milky skin showed a few freckles on her face and shone with just as much radiance as her bright green eyes. Despite being knocked down, she smiled a friendly and cheerful smile.

“Uhh…” Jaune responded, too confused by the girl’s reaction-and sudden appearance-to think coherently.

“Salutations.” The girl said in response as she raised an arm.

“Uh, hi.” Pyrrha responded, unsure of what was happening.

“Are you… Are you okay?” Nora asked, confused by the girl’s lack of response to the attack as well as worried she might have seriously hurt her and feeling incredibly remorseful for what she did.

“Oh I’m great!” The girl stated as she jumped to her feet. Turning to the Team, she said, “I’m Penny. Penny Polendina.”

“Um… nice to meet you.” Jaune responded, coming a bit closer. “I’m Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR.”

“My name’s Pyrrha Nikos.”

“Lie Ren.”

“And I’m guilty-uh, I mean a criminal-I mean horrible-I mean-“

“Nora, calm down!” Ren responded, gripping Nora by the shoulders, though she still seemed to be losing her color.

“She’s Nora Valkyrie.” Jaune responded with a shy smile, though Penny seemed unaffected by what was transpiring.

“Yeah… what he said…” Nora said dejectedly, leaning her head on Ren’s chest in shame, now fully gray.

“Anyway, what are you doing here?” Jaune was certain he had never met Penny beforehand, but something about her name sounded… familiar. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Well, I heard you talk about Ruby and-“

“Wait a minute,” Pyrrha interrupted, getting closer. “You know Ruby?”

“Yeah. She’s my first friend.” Penny gave a small smile, seemingly not knowing what had befallen the young huntress-in-training.

“Umm… have you seen her recently?” Ren responded as he still held onto a monochrome Nora.

Shaking her head, Penny responded, “No… that’s the weird thing. I was so sure I would see her at the Festival, but she didn’t show up. It was odd…”

“Yeah, I know right? I mean, why would she- Oh, what am I doing?!” After some mental reprimanding, Jaune responded, “What are you doing here? Why did you follow us?”

Surprised, Penny paused for a minute, before stating, “Well… I was passing by and I heard you mention Ruby. I thought you knew where she was, so I followed you all.”

This was… strange, to say the least. After all, it was weird that Penny had just appeared out of nowhere and claimed to know Ruby. Still, she didn’t really seem hostile against the members of Team JNPR and, maybe, could help with Team RWBY’s disappearance.

Sighing, Jaune said, “Well, Penny, you got to know what’s happened…”

 

“What?! Ruby is missing?!?!” Penny looked absolutely mortified by the news. Jaune had to admit, he emphasized with the strange girl: they both had a very strong friendship with Ruby, and the risk of her getting hurt was something awful for both of them to consider. “How can I help?”

Pyrrha sighed. “That’s the problem: besides searching with us, there’s not much you can do.” At the sad, puppy dog look Penny gave, Pyrrha quickly continued, “I mean, I guess you could go check out the nearby village or-“

“On it!” Saluting, Penny ran off towards the newfound village.

“Penny, wait, it could be dangerous!” Jaune called out.

“Don’t worry, Jaune!” Penny yelled back, turning her head a bit. “I’m combat ready!” With a wink, she continued rushing down to the buildings.

Sighing heavily, Ren responded, “I guess we’ll have to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself…” With JPR agreement, the others followed their new friend.

The buildings weren’t too far, which was good: it meant that Team JNPR didn’t have a hard time catching up to Penny-which also meant that everyone would have more strength if something bad were to happen. Though, strangely, Penny did not seem to be that fazed from the run-though the others chalked it up to perhaps having boundless energy like Nora. As for looks: it appeared to be some sort of rustic farm, with a large wooden cabin, a large barn, and even a large field that was growing plants.

Despite the fact that they got close, the team did need to catch their breath, which gave Penny a bit of time to scout around the farm. Eventually, she settled on a one of the cabins walls, crouching over as she squinted her eyes, as if trying to make out something. Coming closer, Jaune asked, “Hey Penny, did you find something?”

“Yeah, just this…” She pointed at a side of the wall, revealing a strange symbol carved into the side of the wood. The symbol itself was difficult to describe, and none of Team JNPR felt that they had ever seen it before. Still… there were parts of it that made it look familiar, though only to the point where the best description of the symbol was something akin to an eye within a spiral, all within a hand. Even then, none of the characters thought that such a comparison was accurate.

“I don’t really know what it is or what it means,” Penny continued as she started to stand up, placing her hands on her hips. “I can’t find any information from my data banks.”

“Yeah, neither can- Wait a minute!” Nora turned to look at Penny. “What do you mean by ‘data banks’?”

“Oh, uh… I meant my memory. My father’s a scientist who works with a lot of Atlesian Knights.” Penny gave a small hiccup at the end, covering her mouth embarrassingly.

Arching an eyebrow, Nora replied, “Okay… I believe you… for now.” Suddenly getting in her face, Nora warned a shocked Penny, “But don’t think this means you can hide anything from me! Nothing escapes Super Sleuth Nora Valkyrie!”

“Super Sleuth?” Ren asked Nora, arching an eyebrow, though Nora seemed to ignore him as Nora slowly walked backwards towards Ren, giving Penny a accusing glare the whole time.

Coming up to the symbol, Jaune took out his Scroll and aimed its camera towards the mysterious sign, taking a picture. “Maybe we can get more info at the school library.”

“Or I could just explain it to you.” A new female voice said right behind them. Yelping, Team JNPR-and Penny-jumped and turned around, crowding around each other for comfort. They began to calm down when they saw who it was-a woman in her mid to late 30s, wearing a brown robe. Her platinum blonde hair was cut short, tied into a small ponytail with a brown foulard covering most of it, while her bright green eyes shone with great warmth and understanding. In her hands was, strangely, a broom, as if she had been cleaning something up before the five got to this village.

Surprised, and trying to figure out what to say, Ren stepped up and asked, “Uh… Miss… Who are you? And what are you doing here?”

Smiling a warm grin, she responded, “My name is Akira Novano, founder of Caldeen Springs.”

“Wait, founder?” Pyrrha asked, coming closer to the woman. “Ms. Nova-

“Please, call me Akira.” Akira responded with a smile.

Taken aback a bit, Pyrrha continued, “Akira… You do realize this is the Emerald Forest, right? A perpetual breeding ground for all kinds of Grimm.”

“Yes, I know the dangers that once surrounded this forest.” Akira walked over to the porch of the cabin and began to sweep the area, as if living in this place was a peaceful, boring experience.

Tilting her head, Penny asked, “But wouldn’t you want to live in the city or a village? With your friends?”

“Well, I personally think that any and all friends I have will soon be joining me here,” Akira responded with a smile to the girl.

Jaune had no idea of what was going on. Putting aside the fact the farm had been built so suddenly, there was still the fact that Akira was acting as if the Emerald Forest was a place of perpetual peace and harmony. Putting aside the fact that Beacon Academy kept a close eye on all in the Forest, no one really wanted to stay in here for long due to the high amounts of Grimm. Even with the regular huntsman culls to keep the Grimm population from getting too big, the Forest was far too dangerous for people to come in without any huntsmen. Concerned, Jaune replied, “But, Akira… why would you want to be surrounded by so much Grimm? I mean, aren’t you worried they’ll attack you at any moment?”

Suddenly, Akira gave a small laugh, which both confused and, in Nora and Jaune’s cases at least, creeped Team JNPR and Penny out. Turning to look at them, Akira responded, “Young man, let me ask you this: when you found Caldeen Springs, did you happen to come across any Grimm?”

Thinking back, Jaune did realize that, throughout their journey in the Forest, not a single Grimm had appeared. Something like that was impossible: while some areas were free of the monsters, like the cities, for the Grimm to be so… vacant in what was once such a popular territory was unimaginable, to say the least. Especially since incredibly easy prey, like Akira, would be in the area.

A little nervous, Jaune replied, “Well… no. But still, why build it here? Even if you worried about the Grimm reappearing?”

“I would, if not for the protection of my gods.” 

Jaune stepped back a bit at the answer, still processing what Akira said. “Uh… your ‘gods’?”

“Why yes, young man,” Akira calmly continued, as if talking to a student or pupil. “The Pure Ones, the gods of Arerikyo. The high beings that will one day soon make their presence known in this world. Once their messiahs come, of course.” Calmly, she went back to sweeping her porch.

“Uhh… okay,” Pyrrha was getting worried: she was beginning to fear that this woman was some escaped mental patient. Still, that didn’t explain the farm, nor did it explain why Ozpin, Goodwitch and Ironwood hadn’t done anything about her presence. Even then, that wasn’t her concern: she had a job to do and she was going to complete it no matter what. Walking up, she asked, “Um, Akira… as much as I’d love to chat to you about this, I’m afraid that we’re looking for some people.”

“Oh?” Akira raised her head to them, curious.

“Yeah, we’re looking for a team of Huntresses in training. Team RWBY.”

Akira was silent for a moment, before saying, “Was the leader of this team a young girl by the name of Ruby Rose?”

“Yeah!” Penny responded excited. “Have you seen her?”

“Oh yes, about a few weeks ago.” Looking down, Akira continued to sweep, as if nothing had happened.

Confused, Pyrrha looked towards her friends-just as unsure as her-and slowly walked up to Akira. Getting closer, the redhead asked, “Umm… Could you maybe show us where they are?”

Not even looking up, Akira replied, “Well, dear, I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

“Excuse me, what?” Jaune asked, getting closer to Akria. Now, his previous fear and concern was starting to be overcome by his anger. Even if he wasn’t the best student and had only slightly improved, even with Pyrrha’s help, since his admission to Beacon, he wasn’t going to let a friend get hurt.

Looking up, Akira said to Jaune, “Well, they were chosen.”

“Chosen?” Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh yes, to be a part of something greater. Something you all will know very soon.” She gave off another warm smile, but it seemed less… genuine, as if she was only faking it to try and keep the group calm. “Of course, when it will happen is up to the gods’ will and plan…”

“Well, why can’t you tell us?” Nora asked, glaring, tired of the constant cryptic nature of Akira’s talk.

Not seeming to notice-or even acknowledge-Nora’s angrier demeanor, Akira responded, “Well, let me ask you this: do you really want to know?” Despite speaking it so sweetly, Team JNPR and Penny couldn’t help but taken aback, frightened. Not seeming to notice this behavior either, Akira went back to sweeping and said, “After all, sometimes ignorance is a blessing,”

Jaune was about to say something, when Pyrrha stepped in and replied, “Well… thank you for your time, Ms. Novano,” Flashing a small smile as well, she continued, “We’ll just leave you alone for now.” As she turned around, she quickly whispered to Jaune, “I’m sorry, but we need to get out of here.” 

Nodding, Jaune stated, “Yes, thanks for your help. We’ll just be going now,”

“Wait, what?!” Nora yelled. “But Nora Valkyrie, super-sleuth, always solves the-“

“Nora, I’m afraid ‘Super-Sleuth’ Nora Valkyrie will have to wait,” Jaune motioned his head towards Beacon Academy. Catching on, Nora gave a small smile and nodded. Penny, a bit confused but willing to trust her new friends, left along with them. 

As they started to go, Akira called out to them, “Wouldn’t you all like to stay for dinner?”

Shocked, Jaune turned back, asking, “W-What?”

“You know, dinner,” Akira responded sweetly. “I figured you all must be very hungry from your long walk in the woods. And it is getting late, so perhaps you’d prefer to stay here for the night.” Throughout it all, she still held her grin, but now it seemed… off, to say the least. They couldn’t quite put what, but they all had a feeling they needed to leave.  
Scared for her friends, Penny responded, “Uh… that’s fine. We… we know our way back to town and we can get there by nightfall.”

“You sure?” It was hard to tell, but a part of Akira seemed a little… desperate when asking the question. “It would be safer to stay here.”

“Uh, don’t worry,” Pyrrha responded, a bit hurried. “They have me to protect them. Bye!” At that, Team JNPR and Penny quickly left the area.

Sighing, Akira leaned backwards, her back touching the front wall of her cabin. The door next to her opened slightly, the familiar two dots of white light shining through in the inky darkness of her home. As the eyes gazed upon her, words began to play into Akira’s mind. Turning to the figure, she responded, “No, I don’t think they know yet… But to be on the safe side, take some of the others and have them guard the Springs. We can’t have Team JNPR revealing ourselves to the denizens of Remnant.” Turning back to look at the fleeing group, Akira smiled a cruel smirk. “Besides… the Fisher of Men might enjoy such tasty prey…”

 

Akira was right about one thing: it was night by the time everyone had found his or her way back to Beacon Academy. Strangely, even at night there was no Grimm. Despite the oddity of the situation, the group had bigger fish to fry. As they walked back towards their dorms, Pyrrha went up to Jaune and asked, “Jaune… are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

“That Akira is hiding something at Caldween Springs?” Jaune replied, nodding. “Yeah… there's just too much coincidences going on,”

“Oh, let me handle her!” Flexing her arms and giving a wide smirk, Nora said, “I’ll break her legs!”

“Nora!” Pyrrha chastised. “We can’t do that! Putting aside the fact it’s assault and battery, it won’t help us.” Pausing for a second, Pyrrha looked up to Beacon’s headmaster tower. “I think we should report what we found to Professor Ozpin and the others. Maybe they can help solve this.”

“Yeah, and maybe I give them that picture I found,” Jaune opened up his scroll, looking at the symbol once again. “I just hope this ends quickly…”

Looking at the young blonde, Penny started, “Me to-“

“Ms. Polendina!” A voice rang out, surprising Penny. A young woman, barely any older than any of the present characters, ran up to them. Her dark skin and navy blue hair nearly blended in with the darkened night sky, while her bright blue beret, combat skirt, gray button down shirt, and gold symbol on her forehead almost shone in the night.  
Giving a slight glare, the girl held out her watch and said, “It is 8:37-two hours and twenty two minutes from when you said you’d be back!”

Unsure of what to do, Team JNPR was hesitant to react, while Penny walked up to her, guilty responding, “Uh, sorry Ciel. I got busy with my new friends and-“

“That doesn’t matter! The General and your father have been worried sick about you!”

“Wait, the General?” Nora looked at Penny. “You know General Ironwood?”

Laughing nervously, Penny said, “It’s a long story.”

Sighing annoyed, Ciel responded with a “Come with me” and grabbed Penny by the wrist, dragging her off. 

“Uh, sorry to go, guys!” Penny called out. “Let’s meet later on, okay?”

“Ummm… okay,” Jaune responded half-heartedly, confused by what just happened, and gave a small wave goodbye.

Sighing, Ren said, “Well, I don’t know about you all, but I’m going to head to bed once we meet with the Professors. It’s been a long, strange day.” JNP agreeing, they all headed off to find their leaders.

 

Gen. James Ironwood quickly walked down the corridor, hoping that he could report back to the rest of his team before the night was over. He had just received word from his subordinate Ciel that Penny Polendina had finally returned-something he was glad about. Not only was Penny the surrogate daughter of his brother-and therefore his surrogate niece-but she was an incredibly valuable soldier in the war against the mysterious new leader of the Grimm. Bursting through the doors to Ozpin’s office, not caring if his grandiose entrance was uncalled for, he met with the other leaders of their group.

“Ah, James, so good to see you again.” Ozpin said, unfazed by the entrance.

“Yes, now please make sure you don’t try to wake up the entire student body next time you want to come here.” Glynda was getting snarky-a sure sign that her patience was wearing thin. Well, thinner than usual.

“Forgive me, Oz. I received a report that Penny Polendina had finally returned. Apparently, she was with Team JNPR in the Emerald Forest, looking for a Team RWBY,”

“Team RWBY’s missing?” Glynda asked. “That’s odd… I never noticed that.”

“Well, we’ve been busy, blondie,” Qrow responded in his usual drunken tone. “With Amber, Pyrrha and the war and all, it’s been difficult.” Looking out to the forest, he continued, “Besides, knowing Ruby and Yang, the two of them probably are just training for the big tournament.”

Glynda was… concerned, to say the least. Even though Qrow was not the most respectful, organized, or hygienic of their little outfit, she knew that he loved his family with all of his heart-especially his nieces, who he practically saw as his daughters. Beforehand, she was sure he would have been storming out of the tower and personally searching for the two of them, not stopping until every stone was turned, every person questioned, and every Grimm in the way slain. But here… he seemed almost uncaring, like it was no big deal that his nieces or their friends had mysteriously vanished.

She would talk to him about it later, she supposed. Right now, there were bigger things to worry about. “Yes, I did hear about that, James. Mr. Arc himself gave me an update of the events, as well as said he found some… woman living on a farm in the Forest.”

“A woman?” Ozpin cocked an eyebrow. “That’s impossible: all of our cameras show that no one, besides Teams CRDL, JNPR and Miss Polendina, had been there even recently, let alone enough time to build a farm.”

“Besides, that Forest is property of the City of Vale,” Ironwood responded. “It’s illegal to build any form of permanent residence there.”

“Not to mention the fact that it’s a Grimm’s playground, especially with the youngbloods,” Qrow continued.

Sighing, Glynda said, “I know. I’ll organize a group tomorrow, see if we can get some information about the woman and if she knows the whereabouts of Team RWBY.” Looking at her pad, she continued, “But the strangest part is that, according to Mr. Arc, he found a symbol inscribed on a wall from the reported farm’s cabin.”

“Really? What could it be?” Ozpin asked.

“Hold up, I’ll bring it on screen.” As the image taken from Team JNPR’s scroll came up, Ozpin, Ironwood and Qrow all gathered around to see what it was.

“Huh, looks one of Winter’s eyes when she sees me,” Qrow responded with a smirk.

“It’s an odd symbol for sure. I don’t recall ever seeing anything like it in my books.” Ozpin continued, racking his brain over whether he had seen the Eye beforehand.

“Yes,” Rubbing his chin, Ironwood pondered the meaning of the strange symbol. “I don’t recall any of the kingdoms or their cities having such a strange symbol.” Turning to Glynda, he asked, “Glynda, do you-“ He froze mid-sentence as he saw her expression.

Glynda stood there, frozen in fear, as she stared at the object. Her mouth agape, her pupils the size of pebbles, and a few beads of sweet dropping down her forehead, showed an uncharacteristic fear that only served to spread to the three men in the room.

Coming up, Qrow asked, “Hey, Goodwitch, you alri-“

“Uhh!” Glynda clutched her chest, right where her heart would be, as she doubled over in pain. Exclaiming, the three men grabbed her as she dropped her pad. Unsure of what to do, Ozpin reached towards his scroll, saying, “Hello, Beacon Infirmary? I’m afraid we have an emergency-Glynda Goodwitch appears to have a heart attack, in my office. I’m not sure wh-“

“O…Oz,” Glynda gasped out. Forgetting his call, Ozpin leaned down next to his friend and second-in-command, asking, “What is it, Glynda?”

Gasping a bit, she stated, “They’re back. You’ve got to warn the school, they’re back…” Unsure of what she meant, Ozpin barely noticed the school infirmary bursting through the door. Too fast for him to react, they grabbed Glynda and loaded her onto a stretcher, carrying her away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my story! Hope you enjoyed it! Now, just to say: this will not be the end of the series. I've got some sequels planned (and even a pseudo-prequel) which I hope to start outlining. I even have a pseudo-prequel I wrote that I will be uploading sometime soon (hopefully)
> 
> Please give me feedback about how you liked it or what I can do to improve! Have a nice day!


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